
The Cocaine Wars: Germany's Fight Against Drug Gangs
Cocaine flooding through the port of Hamburg has turned parts of Germany into a battleground where rival gangs use bombings, kidnappings, and torture to protect an industry worth billions of euros. The film follows Germany's interior minister and senior law enforcement officials on a trip to South America to negotiate cooperation against trafficking networks, and sits down with criminal lawyers, toxicologists, and police investigators who describe a conflict escalating faster than authorities can respond. It draws a direct line to the Netherlands, where an investigative journalist was murdered by hired killers and judges and prosecutors now live under police protection, and asks whether Germany is heading the same way. Officials describe struggling to find defense attorneys willing to represent key witnesses, forcing them to recruit lawyers from abroad, while gangs intimidate politicians and even the Dutch royal family. The reporting stays grounded in interviews and on-the-ground access rather than dramatization, building toward one open question: whether this war against the cartels can still be won.